Denarius Moore #17

Denarius Moore will be the most interesting player to watch this year. He was a 5th round pick in the 2011 draft and viewed as a young project receiver at the time. That is until the lockout ended and training camp got under way last year. Coaches and fans alike quickly learned that Moore was wasting no time in making his mark in the league.

Moore consistently went out and made play after play in camp and had everyone buzzing. Of course, it’s always tough to really put a final judgement on a player in camp. Many tempered their expectations until seeing him in game action.

Something was different about Moore from the beginning and it was obvious if you were paying close attention. He was not looking for media attention and had no interest in anything other than going to work on the football field. His famous quote, when asked if he considered himself a ‘playmaker’ he responded, “I’m not a playmaker–I just make plays.”

Moore continued his success throughout camp and the preseason earning his way onto the field quite a bit as a rookie. Of course, some of that playing time was aided by numerous injuries to players ahead of him on the depth chart to start the season.

Moore had a pretty impressive rookie campaign grabbing 33 balls for 618 yards and five touchdowns. As can be expected out of any rookie, he disappeared at times. He will have to work more on being a complete receiver rather than just a home run target in 2012.

Moore will be the most interesting player to watch this season because he is now viewed as one of the go to guys if not the number one option out of the wide receivers. That role is much different than the unknown rookie 5th round pick.

Only three wide receivers on the roster have more NFL experience than Moore, with the oldest receiver being just 25 years old. Moore is now looked at as one of the veteran leaders of the group and how he handles that new role as well as the transition to a new offense will be very important to the success of the offense in 2012.